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Reviewed by Michael Aronson From 1967 through 1971, Osamu Tezuka created the first seven chapters of the Phoenix saga. According to the Phoenix timeline, Tezuka took a break from the series to launch a number of new properties, only to return to Phoenix in 1976 with Nostalgia, the eighth chapter. Don’t let the volume number confuse you; two of the chapters were collected into one volume, and the seventh chapter has thus far been skipped over from being released in the west. Nostalgia is the fourth story occurring in the future era of the series, and is by far the longest of all, clocking in at over 400 pages. It chronicles the rise and fall of the distant planet Eden 17, to which Romy and her husband George escape from Earth in order to inhabit a planet of their own. Shortly after arriving, they discover the dangers of the planet too late when George is suddenly killed, leaving Romy stranded with minimal resources and an unborn child. Through desperate determination, and with the divine intervention of a certain eternal firebird, Romy gives birth to a new civilization. In terms of plotting, Nostalgia is all over the place, and I mean that in both a good, bad and literal way. The literal: the cast of Nostalgia crosses the entire universe and farther, exploring various planets and strange forms of life. The good: Tezuka showcases his interest in biology and nature by experimenting with unique ideas of evolution and adaptation; moreover, there are many cameo appearances of species and characters from the three other future stories, tying the Phoenix saga into a more unified whole. The bad: many of the digressions, either to other planets or exploring evolutionary wonders, don’t serve a great purpose and seem to draw the story away from reaching its inevitable goal; the cameo appearances of other characters also lack a certain amount significance, their inclusion seemingly just for the sake of inclusion, and readers who hadn’t read the previous stories would fail to appreciate their appearances. Whether it’s the fault of the original script or the translation, a few scenes and panels are awkward, lacking in explanation or failing to make clear what’s being depicted. This jumbles a few transitions from scene to scene. Also, and this is likely the fault of the original script, certain characters and threads are abandoned for prolonged periods of time and could have been balanced better before taking the stage again. Nostalgia handles some interesting themes, most of them done well. The theme of the title itself, nostalgia, has actually been introduced many times in the series before, but its full implications are explored here in Romy’s longing to return to Earth one last time. There are a couple very taboo themes that are explicit and pronounced, and while they’ve been used in the series before, they haven’t been as instrumental to the plot as before. They’re not done distastefully, but it’s a little more guilt-free than I’d expect. Nostalgia is rather mixed. It’s a long odyssey with many twists and turns, some interesting and some less-so. It’s far more in the realm of hardcore sci-fi than the previous stories, despite a greater emphasis on nature and evolution. It’s a little more distanced when it comes to human and emotive aspects, aside from the theme of nostalgia, and I suppose that distance extends to all aspects of the story. Hopefully the next chapter will aim closer to the heart. Comment on this review of Phoenix v6: Nostalgia on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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